Monday, May 31, 2004

To my dad on Memorial Day: Glad you came home in '68. I love you, I'm proud of you!

Here's the latest news from my father, 69 years old and still running strong:

A number of Kirskville residents spent time during the Memorial Day holiday weekend doing their part in the fight against terrorism. Dr. Andrew Lovy helped organize the Memorial Day Run Against Terrorism to help raise money for children who have been victims of terrorism.

It began at six in the morning, and the participants were still going strong hours after, doing what they could to help those in need.

"We run for 24 hours which would mirror what the soldiers have to go through when they're in combat," said event organizer Dr. Lovy.

For Dr. Lovy, a veteran who served in Vietnam, Memorial Day weekend was the perfect time to help those that have been affected by acts of terror. Lovy intended to complete the full 24 hours, as well as Don Bigelow, who served 22 years in the Army medical department and two years in Vietnam. More here.

Update: My dad writes:

I will send more later, but our event went well. Don Bigelow, my medic, aimed for 60 miles. He had never run more than 26.2 in his life. My goal was to keep him alive and to get in 101 K. We put together a plan, ran the first 18 miles together and total was 62.3 miles for him, and 103.6 K for me.

Had some of the medical students on military scholarships (will be Army or Navy docs when graduating) there for a flag-raising ceremony. (We had two American Flags, one flew over the high school for everyone to see, and of course the regimental Screaming Eagle flag. We sang the National Anthem, said the pledge of allegiance, and off we went.

Then with very little publicity, we started, had medical students show up at all hours, bringing pledges, food, etc. A few faculty showed up and helped oout, pledged, and we even had about a 5 minute squib on the local TV. At about 2200, when we had reached our goals, a torrent of rain came down, (tornado warnings etc.) and everything got soaked. With 10 minutes to go, many students, Don and me, and my 95-year-old dad did a victory lap.

We want to thank you for the opportunity to do this for our vets on Memorial Day, and as I told those who pledged, the moneys raised are not for war, but to support those victims of terrorism.